Pittsburgh, a resilient city

Point State Park at Sunset

From steel, to collapse, to a diverse knowledge and health-based economy, Pittsburgh has come to embody the definition of a resilient city. Our growing economy alone doesn't make this the vibrant city that it is, however. Pittsburgh’s rivers, trees and the air we breathe impact our health and well being. As climate change exacerbates bad air on hot days and brings more intense storms and extreme cold, protecting our environment will mean protecting our neighborhoods. Smart policies and planning now can turn environmental threats into impetus for bolstering healthy and cohesive communities.

That is what the Rockefeller Foundation saw in our city when they selected Pittsburgh to be one of only 100 Resilient Cities, worldwide. 

100 Resilient Cities provides resources and guidance for an active network of urban hubs throughout the world. The first group of 32 cities began work in December 2013 and the second group was announced in December 2014. Of the 331 applications for the second round, Pittsburgh was one of 35 to be selected and PennFuture is thrilled to be part of the local collaboration to make our city stronger.

On June 6, we met with other stakeholders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors for an agenda-setting workshop. The conversations were eclectic and electric, and centered around key urban concerns (both chronic and acute), many of which overlap with our environmental efforts, including:

• Infrastructure failure and flooding concerns (in addition to safety concerns, flooding equals raw sewage in our streams and rivers -- where we boat, swim and get our drinking water).
• Hazardous materials accidents (oil bomb trains, anyone?) 
• Heat waves (unhealthy ozone pollution is expected to get worse as summers get hotter)
• Significant environmental degradation (clean air, clean water and healthy land: the building blocks of life) 

With our own holistic mission to create a just future where nature, communities and the economy thrive, we at PennFuture are very excited about Pittsburgh’s participation in the 100 Resilient Cities effort. It makes sense and the time is ripe.

Nicole Catino is PennFuture's 2015 Student Conservation Association Green Cities Sustainability Fellow and is based in Pittsburgh.